Improvement in street-car lanterns



- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. A. YOUNG.

Street Car Lantern.

No. 83,124. Patented Aug. 18. 1868'.

2 Sheets Sheet 2. A. A. YOUNG. .Street Car Lantern.

No. 81,124. Patented Aug. I8. 1868.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT A. YOUNG'LOF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF Y AND FRANCIS MOLAUGHLIN, OF THE SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN STREET-CAR LANTERNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Pate'ntNo. 81,124, dated August 18, 1868.

To all whom it may concern:

Be, it known that I, ALBERT A. YOUNG, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Street-Cars; and I hereby declare that the following is a full and accurate description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference thereon marked, as parts of this specification.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the car with its improvements. Fig. 2 is a section of the car from side to side, showing'the position of the lantern and other parts connected therewith.

The letter A represents the car; B, its lantern; a at, its destination-lights, b b, the ventilators; c c, the signal-lights; d, the lamp; 0, opening at the top for the escape of smoke f f, the reflectors.

The nature of this improvement in horse- .cars is to enable persons to ascertain more readily the-destination of a car by night, and to give better light andventilation to the car; and that others may better understand the mode of construction and the application of the improvement, I will proceed to explain the improvement.

Every one who has had occasion to use street-cars by night has experienced more or less difficulty in being sure that he is entering the right car, especially when the streets are lighted with street-lamps only. This improvement is to obviate this difficulty, and add comfort and convenience to the traveler, and lessen expense and vexation to the owners of the cars. Signal-lights have long been used on different cars or cars of different destinations. To an old resident on one line of roads, or to an official of the same, this signal is sufficient; but to a stranger or an occasional traveler it is of no use, and when two or more lines of road use for a space the same track, and use the same signals, as is often the case, much perplexity is occasioned, so that in some places a person is employed whose duty it is to give the name and destination of each car as it approaches. This relieves the difficulty at one point, but does not fully obviate the same.

The manner in which I construct this improvement is thus: Upon the central part of the roof of the car I place alantern-box', B, as seen in the drawing, Fig. 1, four or five feet in length, and from one to two feet in height, and of the general shape and form as seen in said drawings. The roof of the lantern is curved, and of the general form of the roof of the car. It is constructed with openings at the sides, as at a a, in which are sashes containing ground or transparent glass, or their equivalents, and upon which is written the destination of each car in clear black or col- 'ored letters.

The roof of the car, above which is the lantern, is cut away, of course, leaving the space opetn, or it is left open in constructing the carroo Within the lantern is placed a single lamp, cl, (seen in Fig. 2 in the drawings,) upon a brace or other suitable fixture, the lamp having a chimney and opening for the smoke to escape, as at e in the drawings.

To ventilate the car, I have left spaces b I) immediately under the roofs of the lantern on either side, of some six inches above the destination-sash, the same being covered with fine wire netting, and extending the full length of the lantern, except a short space in the center part left for the support of the roofs; and a slide may be used to cover these openings when the draft is too great. At each end of the lantern are openings, as at c in the drawings. In these openings are colored lights, or the light shines through colored glass, giving the colored signal as now used, but, being at the top of the ends of the lantern, they will be more conspicuous than placed at the end of the car, as ordinarily done.

The inside of the roofs and the ends of the lantern are covered with bright metal or with metallic lining, operating as a reflector, and, the same being crimped, a single light in this position and with this reflector will make much better light in the car than the two lights, one at each end of the car, as now used. The lamp in this position will operate to light the car, to give the signal-lights, and to show the destination of the car. The glass or other transparent or translucent material may be made so as to slide into the sash, and may be changed for other destinations at convenience. So of the signal-lights.

The construction of the lantern, with other said improvements constructed therewith, is simple, cheaply manufactured, and of great practical utility.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The construction and arrangement of the lantern B, adjusted upon the roof of the car A by suitable fastenings, whereby the light from a single lamp, reflected as described, will both light the car and indicate its destination, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

2. The construction and arrangement of the signal-light c, inserted in the lantern B at each end, substantially in the manner and for I the purpose described.

ALBERT A. YOUNG.

Witnesses:

J. L. NEWTON, E. W. NEWTON. 

